It was a real triumph, with very long applause and an ovation from the audience for all the participants on stage and off stage, the “Turandot” co-produced by Autumn Festival and Teatri di Pietra Festival. Teatro Politeama sold out and sky-high enthusiasm characterized the closing of the first weekend of the 2024 edition, dedicated to Giacomo Puccini on the centenary of his death.
Turandot came to the end of three days of listening guides, conferences, opera galas and shows dedicated to the extraordinary composer, but focusing on the history of our community. And so the art of silk which has always linked Catanzaro to China was the common thread of the three events which took place on Saturday in three extraordinary locations, located along the “Silk Road” (via Jannoni) where in In the Middle Ages, in the ancient district of Grecìa, silk art flourished, the pride of the City for centuries and rightly taken up by the Festival as the common thread among the various events proposed in the first weekend of programming.
The commemoration of Puccini’s centenary was therefore focused on silk art with a journey that started with the conference “The Pekins and the Silk Road in Catanzaro”starring the most refined and elegant artisanal productions of the time, to continue with the Silk Road traveled by Marco Polo in China, protagonist of the second event, “My journey to Beijing”, and conclude with Puccini’s “Turandot”, set also “in China at the time of fairy tales”. The fairy tale, which has as its protagonist the icy Princess Turandot, who proposes unsolvable riddles to her suitors to avoid marriage, and Prince Calaf, who, to the general amazement, manages to solve them, immediately entered the hearts of the numerous spectators who, rewarded the extraordinary performances of the singers, with continuous applause on stage. Thanks to an international cast that was able to count on the sweetness, in the features and vocality, of the Bulgarian soprano Leonora Ilieva who played Liù, on the authority and tenor power of the Spanish Eduardo Sandoval in the role of Prince Calaf, on the exceptional Chrystelle Di Marco who inflamed with a cruel and merciless Turandot – but with an intense voice like few have been heard at the Politeama Theater -: they received the loudest applause at the end of the evening, but the rest of the singers were no different . Starting from the nice and talented trio, formed by Ping, Pong and Pang – respectively played by David Costa Garcia, Federico Parisi and Davide Benigno -, their interpretation which paid homage to commedia dell’arte; passing through Timur, Calaf’s father, born Viacheslav Strelkov, while Pietro Di Paola as Altoum, Turandot’s father, and Alberto Munafò Siragusa in the Mandarin ones they really thrilled the audience.
But it was not only thanks to them: the success of Turandot is the result of the high quality of all the parts, starting from the remarkable performance offered by the Sicilian Lyrical Choir directed by Francesco Costa, who played a fundamental role thanks also to make-up, costumes and hairstyles that strongly characterized him, also giving him great stage presence. What about the Calabria Philharmonic Orchestra? A certainty now thanks to the direction of Filippo Arlia: the complexity of Turandot requires a rather complex orchestral ensemble, so it was necessary to move part of the percussion to the right barcheccia, with an incredible sound result, also given the centrality of these instruments in the oriental sounds desired by Puccini. With costumes by Fabrizio Buttuglieri, the mise en espace desired by director Salvo Dolce took place in a minimalist non-time in the scenography, to focus attention on the musical part, contemporary yes, but not to the point of distracting from the opera in question. himself, always at the center of all the work staged in Catanzaro.
On stage, in procession with candles, there were also students from the professional dance school of the Politeama Theatre. More than satisfied Antonietta Santacroceartistic director and creator of the Autumn Festival, now in its twenty-first edition, also took to the stage to deliver to Dolce and Arlia, representing everyone, a sculpture specially created by the master goldsmith Michele Affidato, depicting the Cavatore di Catanzaro, symbol of the city. «The success of the inauguration confirms that opera does not belong to the past but still manages to capture the hearts of spectators. In fact, even the students to whom the matinee on Friday 4th was dedicated were literally won over, proving how important it is to maintain high the operatic tradition that our country boasts throughout the world, disseminating it even among the youngest – he stated Santacroce – The extraordinary voices of the protagonists, the emotions of the music and the choir, the uniqueness of the mise en space meant that this Turandot hit the mark, making Catanzaro fall in love with the opera again.
Seeing the Politeama Theater full in every way, with a participating and enthusiastic audience, is confirmation of this: we couldn’t expect a better result for this heartfelt homage to the great Giacomo Puccini.” Archived this first weekend, the Autumn Festival – supported by the Calabria Region/Calabria Straordinaria, through the 2014/20 Pac funds; from the Chamber of Commerce of Catanzaro, Crotone and Vibo Valentia, from the Municipality of Catanzaro, from the Carical Foundation as well as from various private bodies – it doesn’t stop here: the organizational machine is already at work for the next weekend, entirely dedicated to Jazz.
Friday 11 October at the Politema Theater there will be the national premiere of “Timba Jazz”, the new project by Aymée Nuviola who will meet the audience even before the concert; on Saturday 12th there will be a tribute to “Chick Corea: a Spanish heart” in the evening in the San Giovanni Complex, while at 9pm in the Politeama “Mater” will be staged with the exceptional trio formed by Trilok Gurtu, Omar Sosa and Maria Pia De Vito, also protagonists of a meeting with the public before the concert.